70天攻克考研英语阅读 DAY67

2006-7-28 01:06

DAY67

Reading comprehension

Direction： In this part， there are four passages followed by questions or unfinished statements， each with four suggested answers marked A， B， C and D. Choose the one that you think is the correct answer.

Passage 1

David Landes， author of The Wealth and Poverty of Nations： Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor， credits the worlds economic and social progress over the last thousand years to “western civilization and its dissemination.” The reason， he believes， is that Europeans invented systematic economic development. Landes adds that three unique aspects of European culture were crucial ingredients in Europes economic growth. First， science developed as an autonomous method of intellectual inquiry that successfully disengaged itself from the social constraints of organized religion and from the political constraints of centralized from the use of a single vehicle of communication： Latin. This common tongue facilitated the spread of new ideas.

Second， Landes holds that the values of work， initiative， and investment made the difference for Europe. Despite his emphasis on science， Landes does not stress the notion of rationality as such. In his view， “what counts are work， thrift， honesty， patience， and tenacity.” The only route to economic success for individuals of states is working hard， spending less than you earn， and investing the rest in productive capacity. This is the fundamental explanation of the problem posed by his books subtitle： “Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor.” For historical reasons， Europeans have， on balance， followed those practices and therefore have prospered.

Third， and perhaps most important， Europeans were learners. They “learned rather greedily.” Even if Europeans possessed indigenous technologies that gave them an advantage， their most vital asset was the ability to assimilate knowledge from around the world and put it to use as in borrowing the concept of zero and taking paper and gunpowder from the Chinese via the Muslim world. Landes argues that a systematic resistance to learning from other cultures had become the greatest handicap of the Chinese by the eighteenth century.

Although his analysis of European expansion is almost nonexistent， Landes does not argue that Europeans were beneficent bearers of civilization to a benighted world. Rather， he relies on his own commonsense law： “when one group is strong enough to push another around and stands to gain by it， it will do so.” He believes that specific cultural values enabled technological advances that in turn made some Europeans strong enough to dominate people in other parts of the world. Europeans therefore proceeded to do so with great viciousness and cruelty. By focusing on their victimization in this process， Landes advices to the postcolonial states to “stop whining and get to work.” This is particularly important， he argues， because success is not permanent. Advantages are not fixed， so not only is there hope for undeveloped countries， but developed countries have little cause to be complacent， because the current situation “will press hard” on them.

The thrust of studies like Landess is to identify those distinctive features of European civilization that lie behind Europes rise to power and the creation of modernity more generally. Other historians have placed a greater emphasis on such features as liberty， individualism， and Christianity. In a review essay， the author listed some of the less wellknown linkages that have proposed between western culture and modernity， including the tendencies to think quantitatively， enjoy pornography（色情文学）， and consume sugar. All such proposals assume the fundamental aptness of the question： what elements of European civilization led to European success？ It is a short leap from this assumption to outright triumphalism. The typical book of this school is， The End of History and the Last Man， in which Francis Fukuyama argues that after the collapse of Nazism and communism， the only remaining model for human organization in the industrial and communications ages is a combination of market economics and limited， pluralist， democratic government.

1. According to Landes， the main reason that some countries are so poor is that.

A. they lack work ethic.B. they are scientifically backward.

C. they lack rationality.D. they are victimized by colonists.

2. Landes believes that

A. Europeans set out to bring civilization to an unfortunate world.

B. the Europeans dominated other countries simply because they were strong.

C. the desire of Europeans to colonize other countries stemmed from specific cultural values.

D. the colonized countries themselves were to blame for being victimized by Europeans.

3. The cultural elements identified by Landes those identified by other historians.

A. complicate B. contradictC. glorifyD. subsume

4. “This school （para. 5）” refers to people who.

A. are very cautious in linking western culture and modernity.

B. hold drastically different views from Landes.

C. believe in the absolute superiority of western culture.

D. follow in the footsteps of Nazism and communism.

5. In discussing Landess work， the authors tone is

A. matteroffact.B. skeptical.C. reproachful.D. enthusiastic.

Passage 2

Out with the new， and in with the old. Europe is breathtaking. I heard the anecdotes， seen the pictures and watched the travel shows， but nothing could have prepared me for the raw power of 600 million cell phones. The Old World is bigger than life！ Once I looked beyond the sea of cell phones though， I began to see Europe for what it isa marvelous adventure into history and a visual and artistic orgy.

Since our cultures are so different now， its easy to forget that we were founded by Europeans. Lets take a look at some common myths about the modern EuroU.S. relationship.

Myth#1： The euro will rival the American dollar while providing security to Europe. Maybe， maybe not. But there is no disputing the marketing genius of the new currency. Bills come in denominations of 500， 200，100，50，20，10 and 5（no 1s）， while coins are printed as 50-， 20-， 10-， 5-， 2- and 1-cent pieces. With the lack of oneeuro bills and the absurd 2cent pieces， by the end of the day you are crushed with coins. （Wherein a U.S. solution presents itself： spend the coins.） If the U.S. eliminated onedollar bills and added a 2cent piece， the GDP would increase exponentially.

Myth#2： The pace of life is slower in Europe. Whoever thought of this gem has never visited Italy， where， for example， spotlights are mere “suggestions” as Lets Go： Europe describes. Ive never been to New York City， but I cant imagine it being more hectic than any Italian city. Its not just in Italy， either， Europe is every bit as fastpaced as the U.S.

Myth#3： American businesses are everywhere in Europe. This has led to antiAmerican protests by French farmers， English farmers and Spanish farmers. Solution？ Pull them all， from McDonalds to Nike to U.S. record levels. After a short spell， however， the Europeans will miss the Big Macs， their sneakers and their Brittany Spears and will likely do anything to get them back. Sure， in the short run， a U.S. companys profits may dip from $190 billion to $189.99 billion， but in the long run， Europe will be ours. There is a baffling paradox plaguing Europeans. What bothers them is not so much their dislike for American products， rather， what drives them crazy is that they like American products， especially items from the vast catalogue of American pop culture.

Myth#4： Europe is more beautiful and artistic， and Europeans are better than Americans. Maybe， maybe not. Theres no way to overstate， however， that the European way is undeniably different from the American way. As for the glorious art and architecture so ubiquitous in Europe， theres nothing the U.S. can do we are only 226 years old.

But the other differences are not so easy to dismiss： Europeans smoke everywhere； we practically forbid it in our homes. They bring pets to restaurants； we lock our pets in cars. If you get less than four weeks vacation in Europe， youre getting screwed； if you get more than two weeks in the U.S.， you are probably retired.

The bottom line is this： if making less money is the tradeoff for more time to live， to see lifes beautiful moments， to rise above the rampant materialism in the United States， then yes， Europeans are better. If， on the other hand， devising new ways to produce capital， compiling plans to increase worker productivity and making， as much money as you can is lifes pinnacle， then yes， Americans are better. In other words， out with the new and in with old.

1. In the third paragraph， by saying， “If the U.S. eliminated onedollar bills and added a 2cent piece， the GDP would increase exponentially”， whats the authors tone？

A. serious B. sarcastic C. optimistic D. humorous

2. Whats the authors real opinion about pace of life in Europe and America？

A. Italys pace of life is higher than other European countries。

B. Italys pace of life is higher than that of America.

C. The pace of life is indeed slower in Europe than in America.

D. The pace of life is the same in Europe as in America.

3. According to paragraph 5， which of the following is NOT true？

A. European farmers protest American business in Europe.

B. The author advises to pull business back from Europe to punish the farmers.

C. European people like and need American products.

D. If America draw back its businesses from Europe， it wont lose profits but earn more.

4. The italicized word “ubiquitous” in the sixth paragraph means？

A. much B. manyC. widespreadD. unique

5. From the last paragraph we can infer the authors opinion is that.

A. both American and European way of life have their own characteristics and advantages

B. European way of life is better because it does not attach too much importance on materials.

C. American way of life is better because it can help people to get their lifes pinnacle.

D. neither of the two ways of life is good.

Passage 3

I find it easiest to look forward by looking back， to the “Great Labor Migration ” of 1948-55， seen at the time as a matter of black guests coming to a white host. Its quasiimperial perception that has shifted since the 1970s， but the social problems and deficiencies it engendered dog us still.

Its highly questionable whether Britain is an open society even now. Against the upward trend in the 1980s of ethnic minorities breaking into the professions and the media must be set objective evidence of a very racist society. Since the Stephen Lawrence affair the government has at least been talking about the existence of racism， but its always the case that the racism diminishes in times of prosperity. When the economic going gets tough， people want someone to take their feeling out on.

The social landscape seems to me at a surreal crossroads. Britain fosters images of itself as homogeneousto be white is no longer the central defining featurebut there remain various kinds of “Britishness ”。 So I can envisage the future in two different ways.

The first is broadly the way Britain is at the moment： a mosaic of communitiesBangladeshi， AfroCaribbean， Chinese or Jewish holding fast to a strong social identity， but lumbered also with a whole raft of benefits and disadvantages， most of them defined in economic term. Its possible that will still be the pattern in 50 years time， but not very likely.

Instead， I expect the old duality（二元性） of “host community” and “immigrants” whose bad luck it is to be excluded and disadvantaged to have vanished. Some ethnic communities may make a point of survival， but only those who are most proud of their cultural roots.

The alternative is a pickandmix social landscape. At the moment ethnic minorities are moving in different directions at different rates， with personal and social engagement across ethnic boundaries increasing all the time. One crude indicator is the level of mixedrace marriage： one in five Bangladeshi and Pakistani men born in Britain now has a white wife， and one in five babies born in Britain have one AfroCaribbean and one white parent.

This implies a Britain in which people will construct multiple identities defined by all sorts of factors： class， ethnicity， gender， religion， profession， culture and economic position. It wont be clearout. Not all ethnic minorities， or member of an ethnic minority， will be moving in the same direction or identifying the same issues at the heart of their identities. Its about deciding who you are， but also about how other people define you.

Thats what will be at the heart of the next 50 years： enduring communities linked by blood through time versus flexible， constantly shifting identities. Identity wont be about where you have come from； it will be a set of values you can take anywhere that is compatible with full participation in whichever society you live in.

1. In the first paragraph， what does “dog” mean？

A. a kind of animal B. fellow

C. mechanical device D. follow closely

2. According to the second paragraph， which of the following is not true？

A. There is objective evidence proving British society a very racist society.

B. The author thinks that British society is not a very racist society.

C. In the 1980s ethnic minorities broke into the professions and the media.

D. Racism diminishes in times of property， and increases when economic going gets tough.

3. From the fifth paragraph we can infer that？

A. The old duality is to be excluded and disadvantaged.

B. In 50 years many minorities in British society will vanish.

C. The old duality of a “host community” and “immigrants” will not exist.

D. Some ethnic communities may try to survive， but none will succeed.

4. The author envisages the future in two very different ways， whats the main point of the second way？

A. The level of mixedrace marriage is very high.

B. Personal and social engagement across ethnic boundaries increases all the time.

C. Its very likely that a pickandmix society landscape will appear.

D. Not all ethnic minorities of members of ethnic minority will be moving in the same direction.

5. Whats the general idea of the passage？

A. In the next 50 years， British society will develop in two different ways which will help solve the problems of racism.

B. The British society will develop into a pickandmix society. Ethnic minorities will move in different directions and their identities will be a set of values not about where they come from.

C. The “Great Labour Migration” brought great influence to Britain and some problems still influence Britain today.

D. The British government have admitted the existence of racism and carried out some different measures to help ethnic minorities.

Passage 4

Foods are overwhelmingly the most advertised group of all consumer products in the United States. Food products lead in expenditures for network and spot television advertisements， discount coupons， trading stamps， contests， and other forms of premium advertising. In other media — newspapers， magazines， newspaper supplements， billboards， and radio — food advertising expenditures rank near the top. Food manufacturers spend more on advertising than any other manufacturing group， and the nations grocery stores rank first among all retailers.

Through the 1970s， highly processed foods have accounted for the bulk of total advertising. Almost all coupons， electronic advertising， national printed media advertising， consumer premiums （other than trading stamps） as well as most push promotion come from processed and packaged food products. In 1978， breakfast cereals， soft drinks， candy and other desserts， oils and salad dressings， coffee， and prepared foods accounted for only an estimated 20 percent of the consumer food dollar. Yet these items accounted for about one half of all media advertising.

By contrast， highly perishable foods such as unprocessed meats， poultry， fish and eggs， fruits and vegetables， and diary products accounted for over half of the consumer foodathome dollar. Yet these products accounted for less than 8 percent of national media advertising in 1978， and virtually no discount coupons. These products tend to be most heavily advertised by the retail sector in local newspaper， where they account for an estimated 40 percent of retail grocery newspaper ads.

When measured against total foodathome expenditures， total measured food advertising accounts for between 3 and 3.7 cents out of every dollar spent on food in the nations grocery stores. A little less than one cent of these amounts is accounted for by electronic advertising （mostly television） while incentives account for 0.6 cents. The printed media accounts for 05cents and about onethird of one cent is comprised of discount coupon redemptions. The estimate for the cost of push promotion ranged from 0.7 to 1.4 cents. This range is necessary because of the difficulty in separating nonpromotional aspects of direct selling — transportation， technical， and other related services.

Against this gross consumer must be weighed the joint products or services provided by advertising. In the case of electronic advertising， the consumer who views commercial television receives entertainment， while readers of magazines and newspapers receive reduced prices on these publications. The consumer pays directly for some premiums， but also receives nonfood merchandise as an incentive to purchase the product. The “benefits” must， therefore， be subtracted form the gross cost to the consumer to fully assess the net cost of advertising.

Also significant are the impacts of advertising on food demand， nutrition， and competition among food manufactures. The bulk of manufacturers advertising is concentrated on a small portion of consumer food products. Has advertising changed the consumption of these highly processed products relative to more perishable foods such as meats， produce， and dairy products？ Has the nutritional content of the U.S. food consumption been influenced by food advertisings？ Has competition among manufacturers and retailers been enhance or weakened by advertising？ These are important questions and warrant continued research.

1. The authors attitude toward advertising can be characterized as

A. admiring B. condemning C. uncertainD. inquisitive

2. The term “push promotion”（L. 3， P. 2） means .

A. coupon redemption B. retail advertising

C. direct sellingD. advertising in trade journals

3. The author implies that advertising costs.

A. should be discounted by the benefits of advertising to the consumer.

B. are greater for restaurants than for at home foods

C. are much higher in the United Stated than any where else in the world

D. cause highly processed foods to outsell unprocessed outsell foods

4. The purpose of the article is to

A. warm about rising food advertising costs.

B. describe the costs of food advertising and the issues yet to be understood about its effects.

C. congratulate the food industry on its effective advertising.

D. calculate the final balance sheet for food advertising.

5. According to the passage， all of the following are definitely false EXCEPT

A. more food is advertised in newspapers than on television.

B. less money is spent advertising food than automobiles.

C. more of the food advertising budget is probably spent on push promotion than on television ads.

D. less money is spent on food store advertising than on clothing store ads.

Keys and notes for the passage reading：

Passage 1

《国家的贫富》一书作者 Landes 认为在过去的千年里，欧洲的经济社会发展归功于三点：科学的独立发展；欧洲人的劳动观；欧洲人的好学。

1. All such proposals assume the fundamental aptness of the question： what elements of European civilization led to European success？ 所有这些提议的前提是，提出“欧洲文明中的什么带来了欧洲的成功”这一问题是十分恰当的。

2. It is a short leap from this assumption to outright triumphalism. 这种前提表露了必胜的观念。a short leap 用来形容两种事物非常接近。

1. Out with the new， and in with the old.新的过时了，老的又时髦了。这里的new， old分别指“美国”和“欧洲”。

2. Once I looked beyond the sea of cell phones though， I began to see Europe for what it isa marvelous adventure into history and a visual and artistic orgy. 一旦穿越了手机的海洋，我就开始探究欧洲的本来面目——这既是对历史的一次奇特冒险，又是一次视觉和审美的狂欢。

3. But there is no disputing the marketing genius of the new currency. 毫无争议的 是， 新货币（欧元）是营销的天才。

1. Against the upward trend in the 1980s of ethnic minorities breaking into the professions and the media must be set objective evidence of a very racist society. 这是一个倒装句，正常语序是Objective evidence……must be set against the upward trend……作者显然不认为英国存在严重的种族主义，这句话可译成“鉴于……必须拿出客观证据才能说社会上有严重的种族歧视”。

2. Instead， I expect the old duality of a “host community” and “immigrants” whose bad luck it is to be excluded and disadvantaged to have vanished. 这个句子中间的定语从句使结构有些复杂，去掉定语从句后为：I expect the old duality of a “host community” and “immigrants” to have vanished. （我预计“主人社区”和“外来移民”那两种老的二元结构到时候会消失），定语从句whose bad luck it is to be excluded and disadvantaged（其厄运就是受排挤和吃亏）限定的是immigrants.

1. 「D」dog 在此作动词“尾随，缠”的意思

2. 「A」从难句解析1中可看出，严重的种族歧视并没有客观证据

3. 「C」参看难句解析2

4. 「C」参看第6段第1句，the alternative与the first相对。

5. 「B」整体理解本文，可得出为B， 其它答案都太片面。

Passage 4

美国食品行业是花广告费最多的一个行业，广告费在食品花费中占了一定比例，而广告对消费者又有有利影响。

1. When measured against total foodathome expenditures， total measured food advertising accounts for between 3 and 3.7 cents out of every dollar spent on food in the nations grocery stores以家庭在食品上的总花费为标准来计算，在整个国家的食品商店中，每在食品上花费1美元，食品所用的广告费就占到3到3.7美分。

2. The “benefits” must， therefore， be subtracted form the gross cost to the consumer to fully assess the net cost of advertising. 因此，顾客所得的“利益”必须从用在广告上的整个费用中扣除掉，从而完全准确地确定广告的净花费。